Doorknob and method of making the same



Nov. 22, 1949 A. scHoEPE ETAL DOOR KNOB ND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Oct. 20, 1947 Patented Nov. 22, 1949 UNITED' STATES PATENT OFFICE DOORKNOB AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Adol'choepe and Albert S. Lord, Los Angeles,

Calif., asslgnors to Kwikset Locks', Inc., a corporation of California Application October 20, 19451, Serial No.. '28d-,8m

6 Claims. I

This invention relates to improvements in door knobs and methods of. :makingy the Same. An obiect oi the invention is to provide an improved door knob consisting, essentially of an insert applicable to the spindlek o a door lock, covered by an outer sheet metal shell which is firmly locked to the insert against movement relatively thereto and a cap applicable tothe outer end of the shell. to complete the closure over the. end of the. insert..

One. oiv the improvements residesv in the manner in which the shell is. formed to enableA the door knob to be easily, quickly and economically manufactured and assembled with the insert. Another improvement relates to the manner in which the. shell is attached to the insert so that it will not loosen thereon but instead will enable. high torsional forces to be transmitted from the shell through the insert to the spindle.

Still another improvement resides in the manner in which the cap is applicable to. the shell wherein the flange of the cap is spread in the course of application by the; insert and bent beneath a curl that,I is formed on the outer end of the shell causing the capi to be firmly locked in place and the parts. to. be stressed in the course of assembly in that the inturned curl on the outer end of the cap is stretched and the end of the. insert is compressed or contracted. This arrangement assists` in maintaining: the cap firmly in position. Still another improvement relates tothe manner in which` the rosette is easily and quickly and permanently attached to the improved knob.

With the foregoing; and other objects in View, which will be made. manifesty in the following detailed description4 and specifically pointed out in the appended claims.. referencev is had tothe accompanying draw-ings ierA an illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein,`

Fig. l is a sectional view through a cup-shaped blank. from which the shell of the improved door knob is formed;

Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 are sectional views of progressive stages of drawing,r the shell from the blank, shown in Fig. l, by means; of dies thatmay be employed in a punch press;

Fig. 6 is a sectional View illustrating the insert as having been assembled with the shell;

Fig. 'l is a transverse section taken substantially upon the; line 1-1 upon Fig., 6:

Fig. 85 is a partial view in vertical section on an enlarged scale to illustrate, somewhat exaggeratelyv the detail of construction:

Fig?. 9 is a sectional View illustrating the cap off the door knob as having been applied; and.

Fig; I0 is a view in side elevation of the door knob parts being, broken away' and shown in verti.v cal section and illustrating the rosette as having been applied to the door knob.

Referring to. the accompanying drawings wherein similar reierence cl'laractersY designate similar parts throughout, we. manufacture the. shell from a cup-shaped blank generally indicated at I0. on Fig.. l.. This blank. is subjected to. the treatment oi progressive` dies. mounted. in a punch press and irstA force the, bottom downwardly as indicated at Il (see Fig. 2) and then. to deepen the bottom as indicated at I3 (see. Fig. 3). The, next set of dies servel to punch out. the contracted bottom and to form at. the end oi the neck I4 a contraction I5 presenting an internal. shoulder l5. These dies also. start the inward turning indicated at Il oi the. top. edges of, the, blank. The unal dieing operation. completes the shell by properly shaping the head i8 andl curl-y ing. the top edges of the shell inwardly as indie cated at I9.

An insert, is provided indicated at 2D which is preferably in the form of a die. casting. This insert has a. generally cylindrical. portion 2l. the interior of which isY shaped so as to`- fit and be applicable to the spindle. oi a door lock. Adje, cent at its end it presents an inwardly facing shoulder 22 on its exterior designed to be engaged by the outwardly facing shoulder lli on the neck I4 of the shell. Beyond the shoulder 22. there is a. short. extension- 23 which is of such a length as to protrude inwardly a shortV dis,- tance beyond the inner end oi the contraction L5.

The outer end of the insert has a, generally cylindrically shaped extension 2.4 that extends across the major portion, of the interior of the head t8 so that its outer edge 25. which is exe ternally chamiered is disposed close to the curl I 9- on the shell. In assembling; the insert 20 with the shell, the insert is; placed in the shell and is forced' downwardly through the. curl [9 the ex'- tension 2.4. spreading the curl slightly; The as-` semblyl is performed in a die a punchpress which presents a shoulder against which shouldersl 22 and. to are forced'. This causes the exterior metal of the neck of the insert to be slightly upset as indicated at 26 (see Fig. 8) and expanded against the interior of the metal of. the shell adjacent the shoulder I6. The metal of the shell is normally bulged outwardly a slight distance which although it may be only a` matter of a. few thou.- sandths of an inch is ordinarily detectable on very close inspection. At the same time that. this up setting operation takes.- place the die. stakes the metalv t6- oi the. shell into the metal. of the die cast insert as indicated at the points 21- on Fig. 7.

- In this manner the stakingr together with the.

upsetting at 26 forms a ver-y rigid, tight connes.

tion between the inner end of the neck.` I4 of the shell and the exterior or the insert; so that eren though high torsional forces .are applied'` to the shell the shell will not twist or turn with re- 3 lation to the insert. Instead both of these parts will be rmly anchored to each other.

A cap is provided which is likewise in the form of a sheet metal stamping and which is indicated at 28 (see Fig. 9). This cap has a flange 30 disposed near its margin which initially is cylindrical or substantially cylindrical in form. When the cap 28 is forced into the outer end of the shell the flange 30 enters between the curl I9 and the chamfered outer edge of the extension 24 with the result that the flange is deformed and is flared outwardly by the extension 24 to be partially curled beneath the curl I9. At the same time, the extension 24 is crowded inwardly or contracted (compare Figs. 6 and 9) so that in the resulting construction the curl I9 on the shell is stretched outwardly while the extension 24 on the insert is compressed or contracted inwardly and the flange 30 between the curl and the extension 24 is not only curled to lock it in place beneath the curl I9 but is effectively clamped by the extension 24 tending to expand and return to its normal position and the curl I9 which having been expanded is tending to contract and return to its normal position. In this manner the cap lwill be ilrmly and rigidly locked in position.

The door knob is completed by providing a rosette 3l designed to llt over the contraction I5 on the shell. A thin washer 32 is slipped on to the extension 23 of the insert against the inner end of the contraction I on the shell. lIhe extension 23 is then spun outwardly as indicated at 33 (compare Fig. 10 with Figs. 6 and 9) the outward spinning of the extension 23 inwardly of the washer 32 causes the insert to thus lock the washer rmly against the inner end of the shell leaving the rosette freely rotatable relatively to the door knob so that when attaching screws are driven through the apertures 34 in the rosette the door knob may freely turn relatively to the rosette.

From the above described construction it willy be appreciated that an improved door knob is provided the parts of which may be very easily and economically manufactured from punch press dies and a die cast insert. In assembling the insert with the shell an extremely ilrm attachment between these parts is secured by the combined staking at 2'I and the upsetting of the shoulder 22 as indicated at 26. When the cap 28 is applied not only is thev flange of the cap deformed from its original cylindrical condition to lock itself beneath the curl I9 but the insert and the shell are stressed thereby so that the flange is in eilect clamped between these parts. The application of the rosette can be easily and quickly accomplished and enables a permanent attachment of the rosette to the door knob while at the same time permitting relative rotation between these parts.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as deilned by the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1. The method of making door knobs which includes curling the metal of a door knob shell inwardly adjacent its outer end, positioning an insert within the shell presenting a contractible extension disposed adjacent the curl and driving a flanged cap into the outer end of the shell so that its flange is caused to enter between the curl on the shell and the extension on the insert to be lshoulder abutting the mentioned shoulder and secured thereto, Vthe metal of the insert at the shoulder extending slightly outwardly into an enlargement of the shell, the outer end of the shell having an inwardly directed flange, the insert presenting an extension adjacent the flange, and a cap having a flange positioned between the extension and the first mentioned flange with a tight t between the parts.

3. A door knob comprising an insert applicable to a door lock spindle, a shell around the insert, said shell and insert presenting annular portions in close proximity to each other, and a cap closing the outer end of the shell having a flange disposed between said annular portions and having a tight t therewith.

4. A door knob comprising an insert applicable to a door lock spindle, a shell around the insert, said shell and insert presenting annular portions in close proximity to each other, and a cap closing the outer end of the shell having a flange disposed between said annular portions and having a tight t therewith, said flange extending outwardly slightly beneath the annular portion on the shell and being held against inward contraction by its engagement with the annular portion on the insert.

5. A door knob comprising an insert applicable to a door lock spindle, a sheet metal shell disposed around the insert, the shell and insert presenting annular, portions adjacent their outer ends in close proximity to each other, a cap closing the outer end of the shell, said cap having a ilange disposed inwardly of its outermost edge and iltting tightly between the annular portions of the shell and insert.

6. A door knob comprising an insert applicable to a door lock spindle, a sheet metal shell disposed around the insert, the shell and insert presenting annular portions adjacent their outer ends in close proximity to each other, a cap closing the outer end of the shell, said cap having a flange disposed inwardly of its outermost edge and fitting tightly between the annular portions of the shell and insert, the flange extending outwardly beneath the annular portion of the shell and being held against inward contraction by its engagement with the annular portion of the insert.

ADOLF SCHOEPE. ALBERT S. LORD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in thev ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

